Education. Ukraine

Ukrainian Catholic University Campus Under Construction

Mr. Dmitry Firtash has been supporting the construction of the Ukrainian Catholic University campus in Lviv – a vast complex of university buildings, including educational premises, a library, and a student dormitory. A noted US-based architectural firm which has developed similar projects for more than 20 universities throughout the world, including leading American universities like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, is developing the project. The campus construction has been underway since the fall of 2010 while the official Capital Campaign for the new campus and the development of the university starts in the fall of 2011.

As Rev. Borys Gudziak, Rector of Ukrainian Catholic University explained in an interview to Den daily, the project is very capital-intensive and its implementation requires $4-5 million annually. The funds are provided by private donors only.

According to Rector, Mr. Firtash is one of the most generous philanthropists endowing for the campus construction.

“In the spring, we announced that a Ukrainian entrepreneur Dmitry Firtash has become one of the largest donors supporting the construction of our campus in Lviv. He has pledged his support until the construction is completed,” said Rev. Gudziak.

Rector is confident that education development is a very burning imperative for Ukraine.

“Quite a few businesspeople send their children to learn abroad, even to secondary second. This means they place no trust in the domestic educational system. This has to be rectified somehow as 14 to 24-year-old young people studying abroad are unlikely to return home. The country cannot afford losing its elite,” said Borys Gudziak.

Rector also expressed confidence that the development of Catholic educational institutions signifies a European vector of the educational system evolution.

“European education in its present-day understanding is tightly connected with the clerical history and culture. I think that Ukraine being an integral part of Europe will be gradually discovering and promoting this potential,” said Rector.

The Ukrainian Catholic University is one of the leading non-governmental higher educational institutions open for all secular students irrespective of their religion. In parallel to obtaining quality knowledge in humanities, the University students develop outstanding leadership skills and aptitude to address both social challenges and personal development imperatives.

Today the term “Catholic university” does not bear any confessional coloring but is a hallmark of quality academic institutions. A very special intellectual and social environment of the University is a powerful catalyst of students’ comprehensive growth: UCU boasts a very modern library and computer center. Seven departments relying on the support of eight R&D institutions provide an effective platform for students’ research activities.

UCU is the only Catholic university in the post-Soviet domain while internationally, there are over 1350 Catholic colleges and universities operating in 67 countries. Catholic universities evolve quite vibrantly and offer curriculums that go beyond a narrow confessional component. The first universities in Europe such as the Sorbonne in Paris, Charles in Prague, Jagiellonian in Krakow emerged in the environment of the Catholic Church.